Olympus 810UZ Puts the ‘Super’ in ‘Super-Zoom’

The lens on Olympus new compact sports a ridiculous 24-864mm range

Olympus’ new compact camera, the SP-810UZ, has one genuinely jaw-dropping feature — a 36x zoom. If that number doesn’t mean much to you, try it this way: The 35mm-equivalent focal length range is 24-864mm. Pretty sick, right? As if that wasn’t enough, there’s a 4x digital zoom laid on top,

The giant lens on the front of an otherwise small body leaves no doubt as to the purpose of the camera, and the rest of the somewhat pedestrian specs reflect this. The three-inch screen features a pathetic 230,000 dots, and the ISO limps up to a maximum of 3200. The maximum aperture isn’t bad, and runs from ƒ2.9 up to a surprisingly decent ƒ5.7.

You also get a smattering of “Magic Filters,” which let you tweak photos with faux tilt-shift effects and the like, dual stabilization (a necessity when shooting handheld at 864mm), and 720p video.

In all, it’s a pretty decent camera for $330, if what you want is zoom performance and can live with the compromises made to keep the price down. The 810UZ will be available in September.